When Did You Introduce a Pillow for Your Toddler/preschooler

We did it at one but I guess they really don't need one if they sleep in the fetal position, which is best.

At 12 months (when she moved to her big girl bed). I just used the more flat ones you can buy from wal-mart or target.

My son is 15 months old and in a toddler bed. From the time he was born until his 1st birthday, he slept with me. He was always wanting to rest his head on my pillow, so finally I went out and bought a SUPER flat pillow. Any adult who used this would wake up thinking they slept without a pillow.
Anyways, he now uses it every night in his bed. I make sure that when I lay him down, his nipples and up are on the pillow, so his neck isn't cranked in the slightest bit.
If your child seems to not sleep with a pillow while sleeping with you, then I wouldn't really worry about getting her a pillow right now. If you reaaallly do want to, shop around until you find a super flat one :)

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So i just recently in the last month gave my 20 month old son his first pillow. I looked everywhere for a "toddler" pillow, and the only ones i found were really pricey, even without factoring in the "custom" small pillowcases you need for it- so for the solution, i stumbled upon the PERFECT pillow in, of all places, Hobby Lobby ( i say that because that was the first time i've ever been in one, theres none near my house). it was all of $6.99. Its small, but firm, without being too firm like an upholstery pillow. I decided to just make the pillowcases myself, found some soft blue bumpy fabric, made 3 pillowcases for about $10.

Now, my son rarely uses it as a pillow. its in his crib with him, but he kind of snuggles with it most of the time, or uses it as a prop for his feet. but he sometimes does, so i guess my advice is, give her one, if she doesnt use it, no big deal.

We gave our son a pillow when he moved to a toddler bed. We used a regular pillow, they are really fluffy so just cut it and take some of the stuffing out and then sew it back up. Find some fun bedding and pillow cases, she will learn to use the pillow with time but you might find it on the floor at first and this is ok.

For both of my children, I introduced a pillow once they were comfortable with their toddler bed - I didn't want to provide too much change at one time. As for timing - when they can pick up their heads and move around in their sleep to be comfortable is when the Pedi told me it was ok. She may be moving down from your pillow because it is too fluffy. I went out and found the flattest pillows I could find. With my second son I couldn't find one flat enough, so I had to unstitch the end of the pillow and pull out some of the stuffing and stitch it back. I have also made two pillows out of one for my children because they like a "huggy" pillow for cuddling at night - they are 4 & 6. So, you may have to do that. You can also alter the pillow cases to fit so that there isn't a lot of overage of material floating around to get tangled in. It makes me more comfortable to have a tight fitting pillow case for the boys - even to this day - so I still will alter the pillow cases! :-)

Hi M., I gave my son a regular size pillow at about the age of 2. When he is napping at daycare he uses a travel pillow. You may wnat to try that. They are much smaller.

My son just turned 2 and he has had a toddler pillow for a few months already. I ordered mine from One Step Ahead, but I have seen them at Babies-R-Us too. He flops around so much that 99% of the time his head isn't on the pillow anyway, but he wanted one like his big brother :)

Both of my children started using a standard size pillow between 15-18 months old.

A pillow is fine if she wants one but if she doens't I wouldn't get one yet. I would wait until she askes for one. Then I would get a down alternative. My daughters were both in big double beds by the age of two and had pillows.
Only you know your child best. You will know what's right and what's wrong.

All my kids and grandchildren had pillows well before the age of two. Get the Wal Mart el cheepo under five dollars pillows. The pillows flatten fairly quickly. When you lay your daughter down put her upper torso and head on the pillow, this will not put a strain on her neck, but will elevate the head and shoulders to a slightly reclined position. Where she goes from there will be up to her and her comfort level. Also know that children can do some awful things to their pillows, including getting sick on them, so you want pillows that are either inexpensive to replace or washable.

I'm glad you posted this question, because I had wondered the same thing. My daughter is 2 1/2 and moves around a lot, so I didn't think she would stay on one yet. But like you, I still wasn't sure when the right time was. At any rate, I have seen toddler pillows at Babies-R-Us. They even have a contoured pillow, which I thought was pretty nice. I suppose you could always get her one, and if she doesn't care for it now, you can save it for later. Hey, maybe that's what I'll do! :)
Well, Good Luck!

I found a travel size pillow at Wal-Mart that I used with both my children. My son, 4 1/2 , moved all over the bed, so he didn't really use it and still doesn't that much now that he has been in a regular twin bed for a while. He now has a bigger, but flat pillow. He falls asleep on it, but never stays there.
My daughter is 21 months and uses the small size pillow. She also moves a lot. Sometimes she is on it and sometimes not. I don't worry about it except that I wanted it to be flat enough to not hurt their necks.
You could always put one in your daughter's bed and let her use it as she wants and gets used to it.
I don't believe there is a certain age, just that they will be comfortable.
Good luck!

We put a travel sized pillow in the crib with our 1 1/2 yr old. He always sleeps in the very corner of the crib and most of the time tries to put his entire body on the small pillow. I wonder if his mattress is not soft enough for him. Anyway, I'm not sure what the official age is that you are "allowed" to put a pillow in the crib but I think as long as the child can crawl around the crib and move the pillow it should be fine.

My DD used a toddler pillow from 18 months to 22 months and then I bought her a regular pillow after that. She's 32 months now and has had no issue using a pillow at all. She now uses her toddler pillow for "blankie" it's blankie's pillow. To her, blankie is a person too. :)

My son has had one since he was one. We used one of our pillows when he transitioned to his bed in his room. I did it for the smell. He would curl up on it. I still find at times he moves around but I reposition him. I am also a worry wart and check on him 2 times each night :)

I gave DS a regular pillow at about 18mos. It's in his crib - still not in a big boy bed. I found a flatter adult pillow to use for him.

I did have a smaller "toddler" pillow from Ikea for awhile, but it really didn't seem to add anything at all in terms of cushioning. I knew he was ready for somethin because he would ball up his blanket and put it under his head.

Our son, who is 2 1/4 has used a pillow for quite a while now, probably 6 months or so. I never worried about it because he moves quite a bit in his sleep and rarely lays on his pillow. I think this is a decision that you need to feel really comfortable with. I know I tried the pillow before, when he was a lot younger, but I was too worried about him. I think you'll be ready to get him a pillow once you feel totally a peace with your decision.